Finding The Truth
by Dr. Michaela Quinn
Summary: Reba Hart takes her children to meet their great grandparents John and Olivia Walton on Walton's Mountain, Jefferson County, Virginia
1. Erin's Nervous About Her Daughter

"Why are we here?" Kyra asks after they get off the train in Charlottesville.

"We're here because you should meet your grandparents." Reba replies.

"We know Grammy, Grandpa and Grandma. Who else is there to know?" Jake asks.

"My father left my mother when I was just a baby. He put me up for adoption when he realized he couldn't take care of me. My mother lives in Virginia and I feel I should meet her." Reba says. "Now come on. Get ready, they'll be here any minute."

"Who?" Kyra asks.

"Whoever is picking us up. You'll learn enough about it later." Reba states.

(Walton House; same time)

"Mama?" Erin calls out.

"Yes." Olivia says.

"Would you be nervous?" Erin asks. Olivia walks over wiping her hands on a towel.

"Erin, she's your daughter. I wouldn't be nervous. She loves you." Olivia replies.

"But she wasn't raised on the mountain. She was raised as the Northridge she is. I'm worried she'll disapprove of the mountain and our ways of life." Erin exclaims.

"If so, she doesn't have to say Erin." Olivia says.

"I just don't know Mama. Who went into Charlottesville to meet her? It should have been me. I wanted to, but I had a meeting with a few parents about enrollment next year at school." Erin states with a sigh.

"Erin, don't worry so much. Your daddy went to meet her. He took Ben and Jason along with him." Olivia replies.

"I'm just scared Mama. I was never able to be her mama. Then that awful name Paul gave her. I've never heard of anybody named Reba who has succeeded at anything. I'll tell her it's a Northridge name." Erin says. Just then the door opens and Erin stands up looking at the door. Elizabeth walks in. "Elizabeth!"

"Mail call. You got a letter from a Reba Hart in Houston, Texas." Elizabeth says handing it to her. Erin tears it open.

"Read it out loud Erin." Olivia says.

"Dear Erin Northridge. After the death of my mother did I finally learn that you are my mother and that I was adopted. I am sorry that I was not able to find you before. My father told me that my biological father was a man from Virginia named Paul Northridge. When I went to see him was when I found out about you. I hope you don't mind my letter. Thank you, Reba N. Hart." Erin quotes. Then she puts the paper in the envelope. "That's why she never came around. She didn't know we were here." Erin says. Elizabeth puts her hand on her shoulder. "I could strangle Paul for putting her up for adoption when I wanted her!"

"It's okay Erin. You'll find her. I promise." Elizabeth says.

"Oh, I know I will. She's coming here today." Erin replies with a sigh and puts the envelope down on the table.


	2. The Meeting

"Today?" Elizabeth asks. "Isn't that a little soon?" Erin looks at Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth she is your niece as well as Erin's daughter. Don't you want to see her?" Olivia questions.

"Of course I want to see her and get to know her. I just didn't know that she was coming today. When's she going to be here?" Elizabeth asks.

"Daddy, Jason, and Ben went to go pick her up in Charlottesville, Elizabeth." Erin says. Elizabeth leans down to look at her older sister.

"Are you okay Erin? You look tired." Elizabeth states.

"I'm just nervous about meeting my daughter." Erin replies.

"I would be too. If your daddy had given one of you girls up for adoption I would ring his neck." Olivia says with a smile.

"Daddy wouldn't leave you Mama. He loves you too much." Erin replies looking at Olivia. "I just hope she likes the mountain."

**(Charlottesville, same time)**

A tall older man, with two young gentlemen behind him, walks their direction.

"Mom, those men are walking awfully close to us. Do you think they could harm us?" Kyra asks.

"Come on Kyra, anybody could hurt us, but they seem to be friendly enough." Reba replies.

"That's the bad part, they SEEM friendly enough. But are they really all that friendly?" Cheyenne asks. The three men stop in front of Reba.

"Are you Reba Hart from Houston?" Jason asks.

"Yes I am. Who are you?" Reba questions.

"Ma'am, I am John Walton. I am your grandfather. These are my sons, your uncles; Ben and Jason." John says.

"Hello. This is Cheyenne, Kyra, and Jake." Reba replies putting her hand on their backs as she talks. "Did Mrs. Northridge get my letter?"

"What letter? As of today she didn't have any letter." Ben responds.

"Oh." Reba says looking at her feet disappointed. "I wrote a letter about my coming. I was hoping it would be okay."

"It's fine. I'm sure that if she doesn't have it that she'll be just as happy to see you. Mama told us that you spoke with her by telephone?" Jason asks.

"Yes, when I called Mrs. Northridge wasn't home, but I spoke with a Mrs. Walton who was very kind." Reba says.

"That's Mama. You'll really like her Reba." Ben replies.

"Thank you, Uncle… Mr. … Ben." Reba says stuttering.

"It will probably be difficult at first to adjust to this new family; you don't have to call us aunt, uncle, grandma, and grandpa right away. If you choose to, it's up to you." John states.

"Thank you." Reba replies.

"Are these your suitcases?" Jason asks grabbing a suitcase in each arm.

"Yes, we tried to pack as lightly as we could." Reba responds.

"It's okay. Jason, just load them up in the back." John says.

"Okay, daddy." Jason replies.

**(Back at the Walton House)**

"Mama?" Erin asks sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Yes Erin?" Olivia asks.

"Do you think that she'll be okay with our family?" Erin questions. Olivia sits down on the couch next to Erin.

"Erin." Olivia says pushing Erin's hair out of her face. Erin looks up at her. "The woman I spoke to on the phone last week sounded like a wonderful woman who was truly looking for her mother. I don't think she will look down on you or our mountain."

"Oh Mama; I'm just so scared. She isn't one of us." Erin says crying.

"Erin, she is still your daughter even if she was adopted. She's still a Walton." Olivia replies.

"She's not a Walton! She's a Northridge. We aren't Northridge's on the mountain Mama. We can never compare to Paul's family." Erin sobs. Olivia grabs her shoulders.

"Erin, would you quit having such self-pity for yourself? It will be fine." Olivia hollers. Elizabeth walks over with a glass of water.

"Here you go Erin." Elizabeth says holding the glass out to her sister. "Do you think it will help?"

"No, but this will." Mary Ellen replies taking the glass from Elizabeth and splashing the entire cup of water on Erin.

"Mary Ellen!" Erin hollers.

"Now Mary Ellen, what'd you do that for?" Olivia asks.

"She needed it Mama." Mary Ellen replies laughing, almost unable to control herself. Elizabeth starts chuckling.

"It is kind of funny." Elizabeth says.  
"It's not funny! I am soaked to meet my daughter!" Erin scowls. Just then the door opens. Olivia and Elizabeth turn to look at the door. John enters with Jason.

"John! Was she there?" Olivia asks.

"Yes, she's outside. Now she has some visitors with her. We will want to embrace all of them." John replies.

"Where are they Daddy?" Erin asks looking at John. John walks over to Erin.

"Ben is talking to them outside." John pauses. "What happened to you? You're wet." John states pointing to his daughter's wet clothes.

"It was another Mary Ellen original idea." Elizabeth says trying to hide her smile behind her hand.

"You knew that Erin's daughter was coming to see her and you do something like this? Mary Ellen, you need to use common sense!" John hollers.

"I'm sorry daddy, but Erin was going crazy, I had to do something." Mary Ellen replies.

"Well get ready, I'm going to let Ben bring them in." John says walking over to the door, opening it, and motioning for them to come up. Ben walks in with a short red haired woman, a tall young blonde woman, a short red haired girl, and a dark haired boy. For a while they stand in total silence as the family inspects them, and Reba inspects the house. Reba looks at Erin over on the couch and walks over to her slowly.

"Oh Mama! I've missed you!" Reba says falling practically on top of Erin and hugging her. Erin wraps her arms around her.


	3. Talking

Erin looks at Olivia with a mystified look on her face. Erin helps Reba stand back up.

"You are more excepting of my existence than I thought you would be." Erin says.

"When I went to talk to Daddy and he said that you lived here I had to come see you. Now he didn't explain to me what all happened." Reba replies. Erin's face falls. "Why did you give me up for adoption?" Erin sighs. Olivia sits in the chair. John sits on the arm of the chair. Mary Ellen and Elizabeth both sit on the couch next to Erin.

"I didn't give you up. I didn't even give you that name; I'm sorry about that." Erin says.

"You didn't? Then who did?" Reba asks. Erin takes a deep breath.

"When you were two months old your father and I got divorced. I got custody of your older brothers and sister, but your dad got custody of you. For the next 18 months you lived on the Northridge Estate. From what he told me, he wasn't able to take care of you and so he put you up for adoption and some people from Oklahoma adopted you and raised you. Now you are the person you are today. I am sorry that your adoptive parents have passed away and that's how you found me and Paul." Erin says.

"Oh, I won't say that I am happy that they have passed on, but I'm glad to meet my biological parents. I am glad to know how I got my red hair now. Nobody in my adoptive family has red hair." Reba replies.

"Red hair is abundant in our family Reba. Ben, Jason, Elizabeth and Erin all have red hair, but Erin's isn't as bright as Elizabeth's." Olivia says. Reba looks at her.

"Well, how many of there are you? I am already losing count." Reba asks.

"I am Olivia, I'm your grandma. This is your Grandpa, John. You met your uncles Jason and Ben. Then there is John Boy who is in New York and then Jim Bob is around here somewhere. Mary Ellen and Elizabeth are your aunts." Olivia replies.

"Hi Reba." Elizabeth says with a wave.

"Hello Aunt Elizabeth." Reba replies. She looks around. "I've never had a real family before. Both of my parents were the only child in their family."

"Now you have a lot of family. Paul is an only child, but the Northridge family is anything but little, and you can see just how large our clan is." Erin states.

"Now, what did you say this place was called?" Cheyenne asks.

"Walton's Mountain." Jason, Ben, Mary Ellen, and Elizabeth say in unison.

"Wow, you have a mountain named after you?" Jake asks.

"Why yes sir we do." Ben says getting down on Jake's level.

"Oh! I forgot! You introduced me to this part of the family. Mama, this is my daughter Cheyenne, my daughter Kyra, and that's my son Jake." Reba says.

"Nice to meet you guys." Mary Ellen replies.

"Hey Jake; how would you like to take a walk with me and Uncle Ben up in the mountains? We can ride Blue and show you the whole county." Jason asks.

"Sure!" Jake hollers all excited.

"I don't know Jake; I don't know when we're leaving." Reba says cautiously.

"You are staying long enough for us at least to get to know you better. Jason, you and Ben can take him on that walk, just be careful." Olivia says.

"We will Mama." Ben replies as he, Jason, and Jake walk out the front door.

"Come on girls, make yourselves at home. I have an applesauce cake in the kitchen I was just about to slice." Olivia states.

"Applesauce cake? Oh Mama!" Erin squeals.

"Everybody around here just loves my applesauce cake. Why don't you stick around and try a piece?" Olivia asks.

"It's the best cake in all of Jefferson County." Mary Ellen says standing up and walking towards the kitchen. Reba looks at Cheyenne and Kyra.

"Where are we going to go?" Reba asks them.


	4. Bringing Up History

John, Olivia, Mary Ellen, Erin, Elizabeth, Reba, Cheyenne, and Kyra are sitting at the kitchen table eating applesauce cake and talking.

"Now Grandpa, what is it that you do exactly?" Reba asks John. John swallows his bite of cake.

"Reba, I own a lumber mill up here on the land." John replies.

"He's the head of the co-op." Erin says proudly.

"Really? That's fascinating. Do you get much work?" Reba asks.

"Well there's not much work these days. There was a lot of work during World War II. Long time before you were even born dear. Erin was about Cheyenne's age when it was going on." John says. Erin blushes.

"Do we have to talk about the era during World War II?" Erin asks.

"Oh come on Erin. Can't we tell your daughter about the love interests in your life?" Elizabeth teases.

"What love interests?" Reba asks curiously. Elizabeth and Mary Ellen chuckle.

"Nothing. Don't worry, I don't plan to marry again." Erin replies.

"Oh come on. I want to get to know my family. Especially you, after all you are my mother." Reba states. Erin sighs and looks at Elizabeth.

"Can I tell her?" Elizabeth asks and Erin nods.

"Well at first, there was this absolutely gorgeous guy named Chad Marshall. But the first time they met he was after Mary Ellen and then the second time Mama and Daddy thought that Erin needed to finish high school and that she was too young to marry." Elizabeth says.

"Really? Well I agree. I waited until I was out of high school and in college to marry. I feel that my girls should do the same thing." Reba replies.

"Well then, a year later there was G.W. Haines." Elizabeth says. Erin looks at Elizabeth.

"Don't go there Elizabeth." Erin says.

"Why not? You almost married him didn't you?" Elizabeth asks looking at Erin.

"I asked you not to go there and I don't want you to." Erin says loudly.

"Erin," John scolds. "she is just trying to tell Reba about us and especially about you."

"Fine. Tell her about G.W. Elizabeth. I don't care." Erin says running up the stairs.

"Erin!" Olivia hollers as she stands up and runs over to the stairs.

"Liv, come here. Erin is a grown woman now with grown children and even grown grandchildren. If she wants to act like a child, let her." John says.

"But John, she's our daughter. She's hurting." Olivia replies.

"We can't help her if she isn't going to let us help. G.W's been gone for almost 45 years." John states.

"What's going on with this G.W. guy?" Kyra asks. Olivia, John, Mary Ellen, and Elizabeth look around the table at each other.


	5. Paul's Visit

"Go ahead and tell her Elizabeth." Olivia says nodding to her.

"Well, G.W. Haines asked Erin to marry him right after she graduated from high school. She didn't want to marry him at the time and told him that she couldn't and then he joined the military and went off to fight in World War II. It broke Erin's heart when he died just a few weeks after joining." Elizabeth says.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that about Mama. It must have been hard on her." Reba replies.

"It was. She cried and has blamed herself ever since. G.W. was the second man in her life to ask her to marry him, but she feels worse about him because she feels that she killed him." Mary Ellen says.

"Poor thing." Cheyenne says.

"Well, let's go into the living room and talk about something more pleasant. I want to get to know you guys. Why don't we let Reba do the talking?" John asks as he stands up.

_An hour later_

Erin walks down the stairs with a tear stained face, and a light blue dress.

"Why did you change your clothes?" Elizabeth asks her older sister.

"I slept in these and I had cried all over myself and I decided to change my clothes since my daughter and grandchildren are here." Erin says walking down the stairs and hugging Reba. Reba hugs her tightly. "I'm sorry about my absence. I didn't mean to rush out like that."

"It's okay. I understand, everybody explained what happened and I feel terrible about it." Reba states.

"Oh honey, don't feel bad about it. You couldn't control what happened years before you were even born. I shouldn't even blame myself, but I do. If I would have married G.W. then I would never would have met your dad; or had any of you kids." Erin says. There is a knock at the door. Everybody looks at the door. John walks over to it and opens it. There stands a surprise for the entire family- Paul Matthews Northridge, Erin's ex-husband and Reba's father.

"Hello Paul." John says.

"Hello John." Paul says.

"What brings you around these parts? We haven't heard from you since you and Erin got divorced all that time ago." John states.

"I must admit this is not a pleasure visit John, I am here because my daughter and her children are here and I wanted to see them." Paul replies. John opens the door more so Paul can come inside and Paul walks right past the entire family and walks right over to Reba and hugs her. There is extreme discomfort in Reba's eyes as she hugs her father back.

"Paul, what are you doing here? I thought Reba came and saw you first." Erin says standing up and walking over to them.

"She did." Paul responds looking at Reba rather than Erin. "I didn't get to see her children. When she came to see me she was alone. She told me she wanted to make sure that I was her father before she brought her entire family out here. But when I told her that you lived up here, I knew that she'd be back."

"So you came up here when you knew how we all felt about you?" Mary Ellen asks walking over to her sister and former brother in law. Paul looks at her.

"For the sake of your nieces, I figured that your family wouldn't care. I didn't even have to tell her that you all lived here or that Erin even was her mother." Paul replies.

"Paul, whether or not you want her to know that we do live on this mountain, and that at one time we were a happy couple; we were and she knows." Erin says.

"You may be her mother Erin, but I am her father!" Paul exclaims.

"Oh, what kind of father were you? From what I've been told you took me away from the only home I'd ever known at a 18 months old, just long enough to put me up for adoption and send me to Texas, thousands of miles away from my home and my family." Reba says.

"You can't talk to me like that." Paul responds glaring at his daughter.

"Oh yes I can. You are no father to me. If you ever treat my family like this again I will make sure I do something about it." Reba exclaims.

"You want to live with these paupers? The Northridge family is RICH. You could have anything for your family. Everything beyond your wildest dreams!" Paul exclaims.

"I am NOT by any means a Northridge. The first year and a half of my life I was a Northridge, but as soon as I was adopted I became a McKinley and I'm glad about that. The family that raised me was wholesome and I knew that I was loved. With the Northridge family, I'm not sure I could feel the same way. Even with the Walton's here, I can feel the love in this family. Now, I recall my mother wanted you out, so get out." Reba exclaims. She gives Paul the glare that she gives her children when they're being disciplined. He walks over to the door and opens it.

"That's the last time I ever try to help you." Paul says.

"Good riddance!" Reba hollers and Paul walks out and slams the door behind him.

"Reba! I have never seen anybody stand up to Paul like you just did." Elizabeth says standing up.

"And he's your father." Mary Ellen says.

"You were disrespectful to your father Reba, but I was very proud of you at the same time." Olivia says with a smile.

"I don't think of him as my father. If I did, I would have been more respectful." Reba states.


	6. Move to the Mountain?

It was the morning after Reba and her kids got to the mountain. Reba, Erin, Elizabeth, and Olivia were sitting at the table drinking coffee.

"Reba, I wanted to ask you a question. How would you like to take a teaching job here on the mountain? We need a teacher on Walton's Mountain, and since you said that you were a substitute teacher in Texas." Erin says.

"Oh Mama. I would love to get a job here on the mountain and live here. I would get to know you all and raise my children with family around. My only question is where would we live? This isn't exactly a wealthy family." Reba says. Everybody chuckles.

"Honey, nobody on Walton's Mountain has a lot of money." Erin says.

"Except for the Baldwin sisters." Elizabeth interrupts.

"Oh yes, how could we ever forget Miss Mamie and Miss Emily?" Olivia laughs.

"Who are Miss Mamie and Miss Emily?" Reba asks.

"They are two sisters that have been on this mountain almost as long as our family has. They are rich beyond their means because their Papa was a judge." Elizabeth says.

"Oh, well I will accept the job as teacher if you'll let me." Reba states.

"Thank you!" Erin hugs her tightly.

"The only problem is I have to tell my kids. They may not like the idea of leaving Texas to come to the mountain." Reba says.

"We know there isn't much for kids on this mountain." Elizabeth chuckles. "I grew up on this mountain with nothing but my brothers and sisters to play with. We had to go to Rockfish or something if we wanted to do anything."

"Everything else is in Charlottesville or Richmond." Mary Ellen replies walking down the stairs.

"Well, we can also go to Richmond, Charlottesville or Rockfish if we have a problem, but right now I can't see any reason why we wouldn't want to be here." Reba says. Cheyenne, Kyra and Jake walk down the stairs.

"What do you mean we wouldn't want to be here?" Cheyenne asks. Reba and Erin both look at them.


	7. The Girls Don't Take It Well

"Girls, we are moving to Walton's Mountain." Reba says standing up.

"What?" Kyra exclaims.

"Mom, we can't. What about Van? What about Elizabeth? I am not going to leave them in Houston." Cheyenne states.

"Who are Van and Elizabeth, Cheyenne?" Erin asks her granddaughter.

"Well GRANDMA," Cheyenne says sarcastically, "Van is my husband and Elizabeth is my daughter." Erin looks at Reba.

"You didn't tell us that you had grandchildren." Erin says.

"I didn't think it was important to tell you at the moment. I also have an ex-husband and his second wife thinks that we are best friends." Reba states.

"His new wife thinks that you are her best friend?" Elizabeth asks looking at her niece.

"Yup." Kyra says walking over and sitting next to her Aunt Mary Ellen and her great grandmother. Olivia runs her fingers through Kyra's hair.

"Your hair is so beautiful Kyra. It's just like your Aunt Elizabeth's was." Olivia states.

"Is." Elizabeth corrects and everybody chuckles.

"Oh come on Elizabeth. You can't tell me your hair is as soft now as it was when you were younger." Mary Ellen states.

"Can we talk about something other than hair please?" Cheyenne asks. "I want to know why you think I should uproot my whole family to move here just because you finally meet somebody who is in your family."

"Cheyenne, this is my biological family. Where Meemaw and Papaw told me that I was an only child, here I have brothers and sisters. I want to meet them." Reba says. "I have aunts and uncles that I want to get to know. My mother and my grandparents. They all live together on this mountain whereas back home we never see our family."

"But that's the good thing. We only see our family when we want to see them. Rather than living with them every day." Cheyenne says. Erin walks over to her and wraps her arms around her.

"Cheyenne, I understand that it's hard for you after all your life living without this part of your family trying to see why you'd want to be here or why we would want you; but believe me, we want to get to know you guys. If you don't like it here, you can move back to wherever it is that you came from. We just want you to see what you think of life on this mountain with us. I am your real grandmother, not whoever raised your mama." Erin says.

"Look, she is my mom, not my mama. And fine, if I can live here on a trial basis than I will stay, but I am going back to get Van and Elizabeth. Nobody is stopping me." Cheyenne states.

"Nobody's trying to honey." Olivia says.

"Fine." Cheyenne replies as she crosses her arms. "I'll stay."


	8. Settling In

One morning Reba, Jake and the girls were unpacking in Mary Ellen and Curt's house.

"Mom, don't you feel weird living in somebody else's house?" Jake asked. Reba hugged Jake.

"Honey, Aunt Mary Ellen is letting us stay here. She said she hasn't lived here since Uncle Curt died in World War II." Reba replied.

"I was dad would have moved with us." Jake said. Reba laughed.

"Oh Jake. One of my favorite things living here is that your dad isn't." Reba responded. Jake walked upstairs.

"Way to be positive Ma." Cheyenne said.

"Well I'm sorry Cheyenne but it's true." Reba replied.

"You may feel that way, but don't tell Jake." Cheyenne said.

"Yeah, he's a little boy who loves his dad for some reason." Kyra stated.

"Would you two quit ganging up on me?" Reba asked.

"We aren't ganging up on you. We're just defending our baby brother." Cheyenne responded. Reba sighed. Olivia, Mary Ellen, Erin and Elizabeth walked in.

"Hi." Olivia said to Cheyenne.

"Oh hi everybody." Cheyenne smiled.

"Is your baby here? I can't wait to meet my great granddaughter." Erin said.

"She's upstairs with Van. I'll go get her." Cheyenne ran upstairs.

"That's a beautiful girl you've got Reba." Elizabeth said. "All three of your children are beautiful." She touched Kyra's red hair. "I'm so glad to see that the Walton red hair stayed in the family."

"Yeah. I wondered where my red hair came from. Now I know. From you, Mama, Uncle Jason and Uncle Ben." Reba replied with a smile.

"Yeah, we Walton's are known for it. Now the Northridge side of your family is overall a blonde family." Erin said.

"So's the Hart family." Reba replied. "That's where Cheyenne's hair came from." Olivia looked at their family picture.

"Erin! Look at this. Cheyenne is a spitting image of Paul." Olivia said.

"Poor Cheyenne." Erin stated.

"Erin!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"I mean it and I shouldn't have to apologize." Erin replied. Mary Ellen smiled at them.

"Well you guys, I think we'll let you settle in. Come on guys." Mary Ellen said. Just then Cheyenne came down with Elizabeth. She handed her to Erin.

"She's absolutely gorgeous, Cheyenne. So precious and perfect in every way." Erin said.

"Thank you." Cheyenne replied. Elizabeth looked at her.

"I regret it sometimes that Drew and I never had kids." Elizabeth stated.

"You were my globe trotter. Erin wanted to settle down. I love you both the same." Olivia said.

"I know." Elizabeth replied. "Still."

"You wanna take her for the afternoon?" Cheyenne asked.

"What?" Erin looked up. "You'd let me?"

"Of course. You're my grandma." Cheyenne said.

"Thank you sweetheart. I'll bring her back safe and sound later on." Erin said.

"Okay." Cheyenne smiled. Mary Ellen opened the door.

"Good bye everybody." They walked out to let the Hart's settle.


End file.
